Monday's Personal Finance stories

A baseball playoff game gets snowed out in Denver, runners in the Chicago marathon find frost on the ground and furnaces all over the country fired up for the first time this season over the weekend. Nothing like a little nip in the air to get you thinking about projects that will keep your cottage cozier this winter.

Even in these tight times, investing in energy-efficient upgrades to your home can pay off in reduced heating and cooling costs over the long term. That's nothing to sneeze at given that energy costs, while they may moderate some this year, are on a long-term upward path.

An added bonus these days is there are tax credits available for a variety of energy-efficient improvements, from windows and doors and insulation to full-blown solar-power systems. In many cases it amounts to Uncle Sam picking p $1,500 of the tab for your home-improvement project. And unlike the first-time home buyer tax credit, set to expire at the end of November, you have plenty of time to make your energy upgrades and still take advantage of the tax break.

That's a deal that can warm your pad without knocking stuffing out of your wallet.

-- Steve Kerch, assistant managing editor/personal finance

HOME EXPENSES

Home energy upgrades pay off with tax credits

As the weather turns chilly in many parts of the country, homeowners are looking at improvements to help them keep their energy costs down -- and the government can help with part of the bill. See full story.

Keeping that warm feeling when money is tight

It'll cost less to heat your home this winter, but large numbers of homeowners will still need financial assistance. MarketWatch's Steve Potisk reports on ways to get that warm feeling when money is tight. Listen to Audio Report.

Save green when you go green

You don't need to spend a lot of green to embark on a "greener" lifestyle. Sure, buying a hybrid car or installing solar panels on the roof of your house are big ways to be more eco-friendly. But you also can make a difference with easy, lower-cost changes, whose savings can add up over time. Here are some steps to consider: See full story.

AUTOMOBILES

2010 Mercedes-Benz E350: First class, with no baggage fee

Suddenly a trip comes up that covers several states. The options may come down to a quick flight in a crowded jet or leather-bound, air-conditioned midsize luxury in the redesigned E350. See Auto Review.

BMW's luxury goes diesel

Barron's Naureen Malik test drives the new BMW X5 xDrive 35d sport utility vehicle on a road trip from New York to Montreal and back. Watch Video Report.

Top down Jag

Not your father's Buick

The 2010 LaCrosse marks a sharp--and welcome--departure for Buick. A talk with one of the chief contributors to the radically new design. Barron's Rich Rescigno reports. Watch Video Report.

INVESTING

Funds find less paperwork is more readable

When it comes to mutual fund paperwork, less seems to be more. That's why the fund industry is rushing headlong into the "summary prospectus," getting positioned for new rules governing documents long before it must adopt such changes, and rushing quickly to the farthest edge of the new rules. See Chuck Jaffe.

Playing options? Get versed first

A complex options trade that pits sophisticated traders against normal investors is gaining in popularity. While any investor can conduct the options trade, known as a "dividend spread arbitrage," the reality is that professional traders -- namely, market makers who buy and sell options for a living -- have an advantage over smaller investors. See full story.

As bonds look risky, finding shelter in covered calls

Bonds are expensive these days. Investors looking for other alternatives might take a look at covered-call funds, which generate income by purchasing shares and selling call options against them. Historically they have produced solid income and steadier returns than the stock market has. And right now, they're looking like a better deal than most bonds. See Brett Arends.

HEALTH CARE

The painful, enlightening task of choosing health benefits one by one

Death panels. Rationing. Cadillac health plans. It's easy to toss those catch phrases around until you're put in the position of being the decider, as former President George W. Bush called it, choosing what the communal dollars of health insurance will cover and what is left for the individual to pay full price for, should they need those goods or services. But that's exactly the kind of exercise I took part in with a dozen people last week, and there were no easy answers. See Health Matters Blog.

A separate but equal health-care solution

The biggest question about the new Schumer-Carper health-care plan on Capitol Hill is the one nobody's asking. Why stop there? See Brett Arends ROI.

Obama points to growing momentum for health-care reform

President Obama on Saturday urged Congress to "rise above the politics of the moment" and adopt healthcare legislation, saying the effort has gathered momentum in recent days, with Republicans, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Senate Majority leader Bill Frist, endorsing reform. See full story.

Health-reform winners

Health-care legislation in Congress aims to expand coverage to a major group among the uninsured: childless adults. This group -- mostly low-wage workers without employer-sponsored coverage -- accounts for nearly 60% of the nation's uninsured, according to a recent study by researchers at the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank. See full story.

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